


move my heart like a metronome

by brightbluelou



Category: One Direction (Band)
Genre: (a tiiiiny bit of angst), (but like the smut is barely even there), (you'll probably miss it if you blink), Alternate Universe, Angst, Fluff, Hipster Harry, M/M, Parent Louis, Smut, dance au
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-07-10
Updated: 2014-07-10
Packaged: 2018-02-08 07:45:50
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 15,286
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1932582
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/brightbluelou/pseuds/brightbluelou
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Life isn’t easy when you have a 10-year old daughter. And apparently, it’s even harder when said daughter has a really good looking and nice dance teacher.</p><p>Or; the one where Louis has a daughter and Harry is her dance teacher. Featuring Niall as the best friend and Liam and Zayn as the owners of the sports centre.</p>
            </blockquote>





	move my heart like a metronome

**Author's Note:**

> I have been working on this for aaaaages and this really kinda is my baby, so I really hope you like it!
> 
> Title is from the song Beethoven by Union J.
> 
>  **Disclaimer:** I do not own any of the characters, except for the one that are my own.

The sun shined bright as Louis waited at the school gate to pick up his daughter. It wasn’t very warm though, as he was wearing a scarf and a woollen jacket.

He looked at the watch on his wrist, noticing there were still two minutes left before classes ended. He didn’t like waiting at the gate. It was always packed with other parents and a lot of them weren’t very nice.

By now, they were quite used to seeing Louis there, but it had been more difficult at the beginning. Louis was most definitely the youngest parent who stood there waiting, and that didn’t go unnoticed. Even now, after a few years, he still got some weird looks and sometimes people still asked if he was there to pick up a sibling.

Louis was only 17 when Ella, his daughter, had been born. His girlfriend Hannah, who was 18 at the time, had gotten her acceptance letter of her favourite university a week before she found out she was pregnant. She, of course, had been devastated and completely in war with herself. She couldn’t raise a baby… She wanted to go to uni, she wanted to be young, but she also didn’t have the heart to abort.

After some long, serious conversations between the two of them, it was decided that Louis would raise the child, as he didn’t want Hannah’s opportunity of going to uni going to waste and he still had one year of high school to go anyway.

So now he was standing here, 27 years old with a 10-year old daughter, still getting troubled looks from other, older parents. Some of them were judging, some of them were pitiful; and Louis didn’t like either of them. He was pretty proud of where he stood today in life, and he was pretty proud of how he was raising Ella.

He frowned when he noticed school was over and kids were coming out of the building. He didn’t immediately spot Ella, but when he did, his frown disappeared from his face in an instant.

“Hi dad!” She said happily, giving him a kiss on the cheek. Her wavy blond hair was pulled back in a messy ponytail and her blue eyes shined bright like the moon.

“Hi darling, had fun today?” Louis asked as they started walking towards the end of the street, in the direction of their apartment.

Ella rolled her eyes, something she had most definitely learned from Louis. “Dad, it’s school. It’s never really fun. But… It was okay, I guess. We got music class today and that was quite cool.”

Louis reached out his hand to her and for a moment she lifted her hand to take it, but then she seemed to change her mind and just ignored Louis’ outstretched hand.

He just smiled. “Too cool to hold your dad’s hand, aren’t you?”

She softly bit her lip, and after a while she shook her head and reached out to hold her dad’s hand anyway.

Louis honestly couldn’t imagine a better daughter than Ella. In the beginning, when she was still a baby, Louis had had a hard time. He wasn’t used to having a child and didn’t really like all the sacrifices he had to make. Luckily, his mum helped him a lot in the first two years.

After that, it got easier. Ella hadn’t been a very difficult baby; she didn’t cry too much and ate well. Those good characteristics didn’t go away when she grow older. She was pretty smart for her age and was always polite and friendly to other people.

The older she got, the more Louis noticed how much they were alike. Around the age of eight, she developed the habit of never sitting still. She always had to be busy and talked rather a lot. Louis’ mum told him that he had been exactly the same. She was also very witty for her age and rather mischievous. She wasn’t afraid to say what she thought, but she knew when to keep quiet and when not.

In conclusion, Louis really, really loved his daughter. She was basically all he got.

-

“I’m going to make lasagne tonight. That alright with you?” Louis said while cleansing the table. He stared at Ella, who was lying across the sofa reading her favourite book for the seventh time.

Ella looked up from her book and smiled. “You mean you’ll try to make lasagne? If I remember well, you ended up burning a spatula last time you wanted to make lasagne. We ended up getting take-out.”

Louis smiled. “Yeah, but you can help me tonight and then you can make sure I don’t burn anything, okay?”

Ella laughed. “Okay, dad.” She shook her head, still smiling. “Well, I can only hope that your future husband is able to cook a decent meal.”

Louis’ eyes widened and he raised his eyebrows. “Who says I’ll have a husband, young lady? Why can’t I have a wife?”

Ella looked unimpressed. “Dad, you told me you were gay about a year ago.”

He smiled. “Oh, we’ve already had that talk then?” He said playfully. It only earned him another glare from Ella before she focused back on the book she was reading.

The lasagne turned out pretty good. Well, the pasta was a bit overcooked and the crust was a little too brown (or rather black), but if he just cut that bit off, it still tasted quite okay.

They spend the night watching a Disney movie, which Louis probably liked more than Ella, because dad, I’m ten, I’m a bit old for Disney movies now. Louis was quick to say that you were never too old for a Disney movie. So Ella continued with pretending to be annoyed while in fact she still loved Disney movies very much. (She was way too cool to admit that though.)

Another challenge for the night turned out to be getting Ella in bed. She was already wearing her pyjamas and had already brushed her teeth, but no matter how hard Louis tried, she didn’t want to go to sleep.

Louis was used to it by now. Most of the nights, she went to bed without a problem, but about once or twice a week, she threw a tantrum and tried to convince him to let her stay up. (She managed to convince him quite a few times.)

“But dad,” Ella begged. “I don’t wanna go to sleep yet. Can I stay up for one more hour, please?”

Louis avoided looking at her, knowing that she would make puppy-eyes at him.

“No, poppet. You know the rules.” He said, trying to sound sternly, but not fully able to hide to desperation in his voice.

Ella rolled her eyes and didn’t move from where she was seated. “Those rules are stupid. You can stay up late, so why can’t I?”

Louis looked up and stepped towards his daughter who was lying on the carpet. “I’m an adult, Ella. Come on, up. Time for bed.”

Ella only glared at him, something she was definitely very good at. She crossed her arms as if to prove that she wasn’t moving from the sofa anytime soon.

Louis sighed. “Okay, you give me no choice.” Before Ella could react to that, he had lifted her up and thrown her over his shoulder.

She (obviously) threw a fit and started banging her fists on his back. “Let me go, dad! Put me down! NOW!” It was of no use though, as Louis reached her bedroom and plunged her down on the bed.

“Save your energy, darling. Go to sleep, you have dance class after school tomorrow so you’ll have to be well-rested.”

Ella smiled slightly, not mad anymore, if she ever really was mad. “That trick stopped working ages ago, dad. But you’re right, I really should go to sleep.”

Louis kissed her forehead as he tucked her under. “Night, little one. I love you.”

“Good night, daddy, I love you too.” She answered, already closing her eyes and slowly drifting away to dreamland.

Louis stared at his beautiful daughter for about a minute, before stepping out of the room and silently closing the door.

The weekends that Ella wasn’t with him were quite hard. Ella went to her mum two weekends in the month. It wasn’t that often, but Hannah still liked to see her and Ella didn’t mind going to her mum. (Although she once told Louis that she still prefers being with him.) He was so used to having her around that he really missed her presence in those weekends, even though she was only away for two or tree days. He was always relieved when Ella was with him, even at night, because then he knew she was safe in her bed.

-

Louis woke up to the distant sound of music. He sighed and stretched, looking at his alarm clock. He was supposed to wake up in half an hour. Yawning, he listened to the soft music echoing through the flat.

He recognized the song as one of Ella’s favourite songs. She must have woken up early and decided to practice her dancing, it had happened countless times before.

Still tired, he rolled out of his bed and walked to the bathroom to brush his teeth, there was nothing worse than morning breath.

After he spat out the remains of the toothpaste, he quietly walked to the open door of the living room, watching Ella dance. He kept quiet while watching her move in all different directions.

The sofa and the coffee table had been moved out of the way, so she could fully use the space of the living room and her iPod was plugged into the speakers, sending the upbeat tunes of her music across the room.

He smiled at the sight and quietly cleared his throat.

“Morning Ella,” he said softly. Ella turned her head in surprise and walked to the speakers to turn the music down.

“Morning dad. I’m sorry, did I wake you up?” She frowned and looked worryingly at him.

Louis smiled. “You kinda did, but it doesn’t matter. I should’ve gotten up earlier anyway.” He walked into the room, stopping right in front of her and laying a hand on her shoulder.

“That was really good, El,” he said, and then he grinned. “I have no idea where you got the talent from though, because you sure ain’t got it from me.”

Ella smiled widely. “Thanks dad,” She seemed to hesitate for a bit before speaking up again, voice gone much softer “You- uh… You could like… Watch through the window of the dance studio when you’re picking me up tonight. You always wait for me at the entrance at Zayn’s office, but if you walk further through the hall, there are like huge windows through which you can see the studio and you can see us practising.”

She averted her gaze to the ground, as if she was a bit scared to ask if he wanted to watch.

Louis put his fingers underneath her shin and tilted it upwards. “Hey, no need to be shy. I didn’t know you wanted me to. When I pick you up this evening, I’ll come and watch you, okay? I promise.”

Her eyes widened. “Really?!”

“When did I ever break a promise to you?” he said smiling.

Ella hugged him. “Never. Thank you dad. I… I was just a bit scared to ask, because like- Dancing is something really special to me and I didn’t really know if I was ready to share that with you, because it’s like- like my private thing. But… Now I am.”

Louis blinked and looked down at his daughter, wondering where she had learned to think like that. She was so wise for her age. Wasn’t she only ten?

He picked her up (making her complain that she was too old for this) and carried her to the kitchen.

“Come on, baby girl. I’ll make you breakfast.”

He put her down in a kitchen chair en opened the fridge to take some orange juice and milk.

“You mean you’ll put cereals in a bowl for me?” She said laughing, as if they didn’t have this conversation every day.

“That is exactly what I mean. I am a professional cereal pourer after all.”

-

Louis looked at his wrist to check the time as he made his way over to the sports centre were the dancing classes were being held. It wasn’t a very big sport centre, as it only included several dance studios and one fitness room, but that was why Louis had chosen it for Ella in the first place, liking the fact that it was more personal and focused on dancing.

It was a quarter to six, meaning he still had about fifteen minutes to watch Ella dance. He had tried to work extra hard that day, so he could make it in time. Most days, he worked ‘till 5:30 pm. On Tuesdays and Thursdays, when Ella had dancing class, he picked her up at the sports centre straight after work. On other weekdays, his best friend (and also lifesaver) Niall picked her up from school and stayed with her at Louis’ flat until Louis came home.

At first, when Ella was younger, Niall had also picked up Ella on Tuesdays and Thursdays, so she didn’t have to walk to her dancing class on her own (although it was only about two streets away from her school). But when she turned 9, both Niall and Ella managed to convince him that she could walk the short distance without Niall. She assured him that her friends would walk with her so she never had to walk alone and after 4 days of thinking and about 2 nights without sleeping, Louis finally agreed.

He opened the big glass doors of the building and stepped inside, letting the warmth flow over him. He rubbed his hands together to make his fingertips stop tingling from the cold and immediately walked to the right of the wide hallway, making his way over to a small office.

The small office was connected to the hallway with a door that Louis had never seen closed and a window through which he could see his friend. As always, Zayn looked up when Louis leaned against the doorframe.

“Hi mate,” Louis said smiling.

He had met Zayn when he had registered Ella for her dancing classes. Zayn had been working at the sports centre ever since his boyfriend Liam had started it 5 years ago, and he became an official co-owner about 2 years later.

When Louis first came here, Ella had only been 6, and she had been asking Louis for 4 months to let her dance. She had started with ballet, a class that Liam, the owner of the dance studio, taught.

She was fine, up until 2 months after her classes had started and she came home begging Louis to let her transfer to a hip-hop class, claiming that ballet was boring and that the hip-hop classes looked so cool.

So Louis had ended up giving in to her and he got to know Zayn, who took care of the business administration of the dance studio and helped Louis to change Ella’s classes. Ella had ended up loving the hip-hop lessons and after 4 years, she still came back smiling from every single lesson.

“Hi Lou! Everything alright?” Zayn answered as he stood up from his chair and walked over to Louis.

Louis nodded. “Yeah, yeah. I- Um… Ella asked me if I’d watch her today, and I kinda promised I would, so I can’t really stick around to talk this time.” He smiled apologetically.

When Louis picked up Ella other times, he usually waited for her in the hall, chatting with Zayn, who had become a good friend of Louis.

Zayn looked surprised for a moment and then moved to step out of the office. “Well, what are you waiting for then? Come on, I’ll join you.” He said smilingly.

Louis grinned in return and followed Zayn through another pair of big glass doors that lead closer to the rooms where the lessons were being held.

Zayn stopped in front of a huge window through which you could see children dancing. “Here it is. If I’m not mistaken, Ella’s right on the front row.”

Louis stepped closer to the window and smiled when he spotted Ella, who was wearing a loose pink shirt and leggings, and she was on the first row indeed. “Oh, yeah, that’s her! Thanks, mate.”

Louis started looking at the other kids as well. There weren’t that many of them, only about 14 in total. Zayn had once told him that ballet was a much more popular class for young girls like Ella. (Louis quite liked the fact that Ella didn’t just go with the flow and that she wanted to distinguish herself from others.)

That was the moment that his eyes reached the front of the room, where a young man, who Louis assumed was the teacher, was showing them some new moves.

Louis eyes fell on his hair, which was pulled back with a headband/scarf that looked frankly ridiculous. Louis couldn’t look away though, it was as if he had been put into a trance and he couldn’t stop staring at the curly haired guy whose body moved flawlessly to the upbeat music.

He was wearing a simple white tank top, showing his collarbones, which were tattooed with swallows. His muscled calves were also on full display, as his sporty shorts only reached till his knees. He looked a bit weird, with seemingly random tattoos scattered across his arms, but he was also extremely hot.

Louis’ mouth turned dry and he nudged Zayn, never looking away from the boy. “Who is that? Is he even real?” He asked, sounding more starstruck than he had planned on.

Zayn frowned and tried to see what Louis was staring at. Then he chuckled lowly. “Oh, he? That’s Harry. He teaches all hip-hop classes here. He’s very, very talented.”

Louis finally averted his gaze to look at Zayn. “Yeah, I can see that.”

Zayn raised his eyebrows at that, looking rather amused.

Louis softly hit his arm. “Don’t make fun of me, you dick!”

Zayn would defend himself, saying that he never said anything, but the children that started to poor out of the room interrupted them.

“Well, it seems that the lesson has finished. That’s my cue to go back to my office, mate. In case there are parents with questions. See you next week!”

Louis shortly nodded and looked through the window again, only to see that Harry wasn’t in view anymore. He didn’t have much time to sulk though, as he felt a pair of little arms wrap around his waist.

“Dad! You’re here! Did you see us? Was I good?!” Ella asked excitedly.

Louis grinned. “You were awesome, babe! Come on, let’s go. You can tell me all about the lesson once we’re in the car.”

And with one last look through the window, they started walking away.

-

From that day on, Louis came to watch Ella every time for the last few minutes of the classes. He just really liked seeing her that happy and watching her move to the rhythm of the beat. (And if he secretly checked out her dance teacher, nobody had to know.)

Today was no different. It was Tuesday and Louis was quite exhausted. He’d had a very busy week at work and he was happy that the weekend was coming closer. He attentively looked at Ella through the windows of the dance studio. She was laughing with something Harry had said and Louis couldn’t help but wonder what he’d told her.

It didn’t take long before the lesson finished and the children came out of the room.

“Hi dad!” Ella said happily, giving him a kiss on his cheek. Her hair was all over the place and she looked quite sweaty, clearly exhausted from the lesson.

Louis smiled. “Hi sweetheart. Go get changed, I’m hungry and I wanna go home.”

Ella just rolled her eyes and patted his stomach, as if to say that he wouldn’t exactly starve anytime soon. She made her way to the changing room without complaining, though, and Louis saw that as a victory.

“She’s really talented, you know,” A deep voice all of a sudden sounded.

Louis turned around in surprise, only to be met with deep green eyes. And jesus, Louis breath hitched in his throat. The thing was; some things looked less beautiful when you saw them in close-up, like an ugly painting or a church, but that clearly wasn’t the case here: Harry was even more gorgeous from nearby. He was wearing a plaid shirt that was half unbuttoned and some track pants, and Louis could see small drops of sweat on his forehead, as a reminder of the intensive dance class he’d just given.

“Oh, hi. You must be my daughters dance teacher,” Louis said awkwardly, not really knowing what to say and trying to ignore how Harry’s green eyes seemed to stare straight into his soul.

Harry smiled, and Louis almost lost it at that point, because seriously, where those dimples? “Yeah, I’m Harry. Harry Styles.” He said, outstretching his hand for Louis to shake. “You’re Ella’s dad, right?”

Louis shook his hand. “Uh, yeah, that’s me. My name’s Louis.” Harry’s hand felt warm against his and Louis felt as though is heart might be beating out of his chest.

Harry nodded. “Well, Louis, like I said, she’s very talented.”

Louis face lit up at that. “Really? I mean… I figured she was good, but I thought that maybe I was biased since I’m her dad and all.”

“Well, I’m not really supposed to have any favourites, but…” He paused for a second before leaning in and continuing on a softer tone, as if he was sharing his biggest secret. “Ella is definitely my favourite in this class.”

That was the moment Ella decided to show up again and tug on Louis’ shirt, making him shift his attention to her.

“Hey dad! Was that fast enough? Wouldn’t want you to starve, you know…” Ella said happily. She had put on her shirt backwards and the zipper of her pants wasn’t closed. Louis was distracted for a moment, looking between is daughter and the curly-haired half-god in front of him.

“Well, I should get going,” Harry’s deep voice sounded. He crouched down a bit to Ella’s height. “Keep practising those slides, I’m sure you’ll get there.”

Louis had no idea what they were talking about, but he wasn’t really able to think straight either when he saw Harry moving his hand through Ella’s hair and standing up again.

“See you next week, El.” He smiled and did a cute little wave at her. “Bye Louis, nice to meet you.” He turned around, after throwing one last wink in Louis’ direction, and seriously, who was he? Louis probably didn’t want anything more right now then to get to know him.

Ella was pulling on his arm again, though. “Come on dad! I want some food. I thought you were hungry too?”

Louis distractedly nodded. “Uh yeah, let’s go.” He started walking towards the door, throwing one last look over his shoulder to where Harry had just disappeared. Then he looked down at Ella.

“Hey Ella…” He said, catching her attention. “Last one at the car is a loser?” And he took off running, Ella close behind him.

-

“Come on, Ella, hurry up! We still need to pack your bags and your mum is coming to get you in half an hour,” Louis spoke on a slightly irritated tone to his daughter who was still clinging to his leg after her dancing lesson had just finished. The week had passed slowly and had been incredibly busy, and Louis was tired, tired, tired.

“Yeah, yeah, dad, I’m going. I just need to change my shirt, it stinks of sweat,” Ella replied sweetly before rolling her eyes and making her way to the changing rooms.

Louis sighed and put his hands on his head for a moment.

“Rough day?” Zayn’s voice sounded, making Louis turn around to look at him. Zayn was leaning against the wall and eyed Louis with a worried look on his face.

He smiled grimly. “Just stressful. Ella will be with her mum this weekend and I always end up missing her too much, so I don’t particularly like to say goodbye. And it was also a rough day at work, that too.”

Zayn slightly patted Louis’ shoulder. “She’ll be alright, mate.” He seemed to hesitate a moment before continuing, “As for you… Why don’t you come for a drink with me tonight? I mean, Liam will be there too and so will Harry.” He said, absently pointing to the dance studio beside them where Harry was still practising. “You could bring a friend.”

Louis frowned for a second but then smiled softly. “You know what? That actually sounds really good. I haven’t been out for ages, like… It’s a bit complicated with Ella, you know.” He paused for a bit. “I’ll bring Niall, he’s my best mate and he’s always up for a drink. You’ll quite like him, I think. I mean, everyone seems to like Niall.”

Zayn’s face lighted up at Louis agreement, clearly not really expecting it, as Louis had rejected all his offers of going out before (and there were a lot). “Really? Awesome! I’ll text you the address and the hour later tonight, ‘kay?”

Louis nodded and then continued sighing softly when he saw Ella approaching again. “Ella, that shirt and those leggings are not a good combination.” He said disapprovingly, eying her bright pink shirt and green trousers with a wary look.

Ella frowned and shot her dad an irritated look. “Oh, come on, dad. It’s called colour blocking. You’re gay, I thought you of all people would understand.”

Louis’ eyes widened a bit at her witty respond and he heard Zayn snigger in the background. “That’s no way of speaking to your dad, young lady. And also, don’t stereotype me, please?” He tried to sound sternly, but the crinkles by his eyes probably gave away that he wasn’t really mad at her.

He gave her a little push towards the door. “Now come on, your mum will be there soon and we don’t wanna get another remark on how we should have packed your bag yesterday.”

“Yes sir!” Ella responded, while slightly bowing for him. (She honestly lived for mocking him, Louis was sure.)

Louis just rolled his eyes in amusement and made his way out of the door. “See you tonight, Zayn!” He shouted through the door.

“See ya!” He weakly heard Zayn reply.

-

Louis had just zipped up Ella’s bag when the doorbell of their flat rang. “Ella! Your mum’s here!” Louis yelled. Ella had last minute decided that she needed to look more pretty when Hannah came. When Louis had asked why, she’d simply replied with ‘Dad, mum is a girl. She’s always dressed so nice and her hair is nice too. I’m a girl too, so when mum comes, I need have nice hair too.’ And she had locked herself in the bathroom.

Louis stepped towards the door and opened it. “Hi Hannah,” He said as he leaned in to give her a kiss on the cheek. That was one thing Louis was very grateful for, that him and Hannah still got on well.

“Hi Lou. Where’s Ella?” She said, eying into the flat. Louis let her in and closed the door behind him.

“She’s making herself ‘pretty’. She thinks your hair is nice and now she wants her hair to look nice too. I told her that she always looks pretty and nice but she didn’t want to listen to me.”

Hannah sighed and smiled softly. “Yeah, that’s totally her.”

“Mum!” Ella shouted from the doorway where she had suddenly appeared.

“Owh hi honey! How is my big girl doing?”

Ella smiled and gave Hannah a hug. “Really good! Look at my hair! I did it just like yours when I last came to visit you.”

She had tied her hair together in a high, messy bun and Louis had to admit that it actually looked really pretty.

“It’s beautiful!” Hannah exclaimed. “Now darling, I’m afraid we have to go already. We’re still visiting grandma this evening and she’s waiting for us. Grab your bag, will you?”

Ella nodded and made her way to her room.

“So I’ll drop her off again Sunday evening, okay?” Hannah spoke, looking questioningly at Louis.

Louis nodded. “Yeah, just bring her around 9 o’clock. That way I can put her straight in bed.”

In the meanwhile, Ella had returned from her room with her bag.

Hannah picked it up and headed towards the door. “Come on, Els. Say goodbye to dad. We really need to go.”

Ella nodded and turned around to hug Louis. “Bye dad. I’ll miss you.” She wrapped her arms around his waist and pressed her face into his tummy.

“I’ll miss you too, babycakes. Like always. Now go, your mum is clearly in a hurry.”

Ella let him go and followed Hannah outside. “Bye dad!”

“Bye baby!” He replied softly, already missing her.

-

“Niall,” Louis groaned. “I have no idea what to wear. HELP ME.”

Niall looked up from his phone. He was spread out on Louis bed and was not really helping Louis. “Mate, just put something on. It’s just drinks, it’s not like you’re going on a date or something.”

Louis frowned. “But I haven’t been out in ages… I really don’t know what to wear and like, I know it’s just drinks but like... Maybe, uh, maybe there might be someone there that I’d kinda like to impress?” He hesitantly bit his lip.

Niall sat up straight. “Louis? Got something to tell me, mate? Someone you’ve got your eye on? Come on, tell me.”

Louis flushed slightly red. “It’s- no one really. Just… Ella’s dance teacher is coming? He’s called Harry and like- he’s kinda insanely fit. I don’t know, he’s totally unreachable, like he’s basically my daughter’s teacher, but he’s just- he seems nice.”

Niall smiled. “Well, then you should definitely wear your black jeans. They make you arse look amazing, like, if I was gay and I didn’t have a Victoria Secret-model as girlfriend, I would definitely tap that.”

Louis just rolled his eyes and pulled said jeans out of the closet to pull them on. It was quite a tight fit, but Louis had to admit, his arse did look pretty damn good in these trousers. He quickly pulled on a grey shirt and moved on to the bathroom to style his hair. He just let it fall into his natural fringe, slightly styling it to make it look better.

He returned to his room and quickly made a turn for Niall. “Approved?”

Niall grinned. “That guy isn’t going to stand a chance today, mate.”

Louis smiled back. “Come on, let’s go. We’re already a bit late and I told Zayn at meet them there.”

“Coming!” Niall shouted enthusiastically, which made Louis grin and turn around again. “Too much information, mate.”

Niall just rolled his eyes in response and pulled Louis out of the door.

-

When Niall and Louis entered the bar, it was already packed with people. They were scattered all around the little tables and the dance floor, of which Louis didn’t even knew it would be there.

“Jesus, Niall! How are we gonna find them in here? Do you think they’re already here? I didn’t think it would be this kind of bar!” He frowned and looked around, trying to spot Zayn, Liam or Harry in the crowd.

Niall encouragingly patted his shoulder. “Stop rambling, mate. We’ll be fine. It isn’t that big in here. Now, what do they look like? Maybe I can find them.”

Louis sighed. “Well, Zayn has like these perfectly cutted cheekbones and tattoos and a black quiff with a blond streak through it.” He stood on his tippy-toes to look over all the people. “Kinda like that guy there!” He said, pointing towards someone with a quiff like Zayn. Wait a second… That was Zayn.

“Owh, that’s him!” Louis exclaimed. He grabbed Niall’s hand and pulled him towards the table, pushing through the people that had gathered on the dance floor.

When they reached the table, they both plumped down on chairs that were available. Zayn looked up from a conversation that he had been holding with Liam. “Louis! You’re here! And you’re only…” He looked down at the watch on his wrist. “10 minutes late. That must be a new record!” He smiled as Louis rolled his eyes.

“You must be Niall!” Zayn continued, holding his hand out for Niall to shake. “I’m Zayn.”

Niall leaned forward, ignoring Zayn’s hand, and pulled him into a hug. Niall acted as if they had known each other for ages, but really, what else is new. If Zayn was surprised, he didn’t show it. He nodded towards Liam, who sat beside him. “This is Liam, my boyfriend.”

Niall wasn’t able to hug him because the table was in his way, but Louis didn’t really doubt that he would hug him too, if he could. Instead, he smiled his signature crooked smile. “Nice to meet ya, mate!”

He slapped Louis on his back, making Louis raise his eyebrows. “Now mate,” Niall began, turning towards him, “Where is this Harry?”

Louis froze, eying Zayn and Liam, who had clearly heard, and slapped Niall’s hand away. “Would you keep your voice down, please?”

Zayn, Liam and Niall all started laughing. “So you have a thing for Haz, Louis?” Zayn wiggled his eyebrows.

Louis groaned. “No, I haven’t! Yes, he’s really fit, but he’s also the dance teacher of my 10-year old daughter, mind you.”

Zayn just kept smiling and Liam leaned forward to pat Louis’ arm. “Don’t worry, Louis, he’ll be here in a minute.” He looked at some point behind Louis and grinned. “Speak of the devil! There he is!”

Louis turned around; very calm of course, and very much not looking like a 12-year old girl meeting her crush. He spotted Harry in an instant and tried not to openly gape at him when he sat down in the chair next to Louis, even though there were three other unoccupied chairs.

Harry was wearing a button up, although Louis didn’t think you could really call it that because the shirt was almost completely unbuttoned, showing the huge butterfly that Harry had tattooed on his abs. What even is this person? Except for insanely beautiful, that is.

“Hi guys!” He smiled widely and Louis might have wanted to kill himself because people like Harry shouldn’t be allowed to have dimples like that. The others all enthusiastically greeted him and fell in conversation with each other, just like Louis fell in conversation with Harry.

Talking with Harry went a lot better than Louis had anticipated on. (And by that he meant that he managed to hold a conversation without starting to ramble or turning into a stuttering mess.) Louis was surprised at how well they seemed to click.

An hour in, and Louis had tuned out everyone but Harry. He now knew that Harry had studied to be a kindergarten teacher and that he wanted to start teaching next year, as being a dance teacher was nice, but having a steady income and a real job would be nicer. He now also knew that Harry had a sister who he was very close with and that besides dancing, he also really liked to sing.

Louis found himself starting to open up more and more as the evening proceeded. Harry now knew that Louis worked for a local magazine, as well as the fact that he had 5 little sisters whom he loved dearly and that Ella meant the world to him.

Ella, of course, was an inevitable subject for them to talk about. To Louis’ delight, Harry kept going on and on about how wonderful he thought Ella was (and he also cheekily added that he didn’t just say so to please Louis). As they kept talking, Louis even found himself telling all about Ella’s mum and the whole situation between them. Harry was wonderful as always about it, and Louis never really doubted that he would be.

When nearing the end of the night, Louis found himself a bit tipsy on the dance floor. He couldn’t dance very well, but he could manage some swaying from side to side. He was surprised when he felt a body press against his backside. He quickly turned his head, only to be met with Harry’s intense green eyes and signature smirk.

Louis found himself leaning against Harry within seconds, letting Harry move them to the beat of the music. (Only because Harry was a good dancer and made Louis look good, not because he liked the feeling of Harry’s crotch against his bum, he swore!) And well, if they ended up slowly grinding against each other, nobody could really blame them.

Louis didn’t really know how he got home. He remembered Niall stepping into a cab with him and passing out in his bed, but that was about it.

-

Louis groaned loudly as he woke up. His head felt heavy and he pressed his eyes closed firmly to shut the bright sunlight out.

The second time he woke up, it was to the sound of someone singing in the house. Louis made his way to be kitchen, only to be met with Niall, who was, by the looks of it, plundering Louis’ fridge.

He looked up when he heard Louis entering the room. “Hi mate!” He exclaimed with a bright smile on his face.

Louis sat on the counter and groaningly put his head in his hands. “Not so loud, Ni, please.”

Niall burst into laughter. “Rough night then?”

Louis looked up from his hands and groaned again. “Niall, please, please, tell me that I wasn’t grinding against Harry last night?”

If possible, Niall’s smile widened even more. “I would, but my mum told me not to lie.” He continued laughing while putting bread in his mouth and Louis continued groaning.

“Don’t worry,” Niall said once he swallowed the bread. “I came to get you before things got even more steamy. Pretty much nothing happened.”

Louis closed his eyes, trying to ignore his pounding headache. “Thanks Niall.” He hopped of the counter and took the remains of the bread out of Niall’s hands. “Maybe you’re not so bad after all.”

(While showering later, he had a very hard time trying not to think about the way Harry’s flushed body had felt against his and an even harder time trying not to wank to the memory. Needless to say, he didn’t succeed.)

-

It was 6:45 pm and Louis was officially freaking out. Ella’s dancing class had ended a rough 45 minutes ago and Louis hadn’t been there to pick her up. In fact, he still wasn’t there.

Normally, Louis had to work ‘till about 5:30 pm, so he could make it perfectly in time to pick Ella up, but today his boss decided that he wanted yet another article finished before the deadline and he decided that Louis had yet again be the one to write it. Which okay, whatever, he’d get paid extra and it wouldn’t have been a problem if it hadn’t been for his cell phone dying on the very same moment.

As a consequence, he hadn’t been able to reach Niall, which meant that no one was going to pick Ella up, which meant that the poor girl was probably still waiting for her dad at the sports centre or God knows what might have happened to her.

Louis’ mind hadn’t stopped racing the past hour. The only thing on his mind was Ella. Like, what if she had decided to walk home by herself or what if someone kidnapped her or what if she lost her way or, or, or…

On his way to the sports centre, Louis’ probably broke about eight traffic rules, but he couldn’t care less. A slight wave of relief flood over him as he parked and noticed that the lights of the building were still turned on.

Now, he’d been prepared for a lot of things, like the sports centre being empty or Ella having gone home on her own, but what he was seeing right now wasn’t something that he’d been expecting when he had rushed inside the building.

He’d walked straight through towards the dance studio once he was inside so he’d be able to look through the windows if Ella was there.

As it turned out, she was. She wasn’t on her own though. Louis hesitantly took a step towards the door and reached out to open it. When he did, he was met with the sight he’d previously gotten view of through the window.

Ella was sitting in Harry’s lap and they were both looking at his phone that Ella was clutching in her hands in front of them. It looked like they were playing a game on it and Harry was explaining to Ella how it worked. They both looked up when Louis stepped inside the studio.

“Dad!” Ella exclaimed excitingly as she sprung up and ran towards him to give him a hug. Louis hugged her back in relief, never loosing eye contact with the curly haired boy he could still see over her shoulder.

“Hi baby, I’m really sorry. Work lasted a bit longer today and my phone died so I couldn’t call Niall.” He said apologetically.

Ella pulled back from the hug and smiled up at him. “Don’t worry dad. I suspected something like that! Harry immediately said that he’d wait here with me ‘till you got here. We had fun!” She said, wiggling with her eyebrows when she said the last sentence.

Louis smiled at Harry, who’d take a few steps in their direction. “Thank you so much! I was kinda worried sick.”

Harry just shrugged. “Doesn’t matter. It’s not a big deal.” And how could someone possibly be so endearing? Louis had no idea to be honest.

The next few seconds were spent by Harry and Louis simply staring at each other, which reminded Louis of them dancing against one another in the club last week, taking in each other’s presence.

“Okaaaay…” Ella’s voice sounded all of a sudden, making them snap out of their trance. “That was slightly weird.” She continued. She sounded a bit confused, but the sneaky smile on her face warned Louis that she was plotting something in her head.

Louis shook his head slightly to remember where exactly he was. “Okay, let’s get you home, sweetie. I bet you’re quite hungry.” He said, distractedly looking at her.

“Wait!” Harry suddenly said, making Louis look up again in surprise. Harry seemed slightly flushed and took another step closer to Louis, passing him a small note. “Here’s my phone number, uhm… In case you have to work late again and like, so you can let me know then. Just… Just text me later and then I’ll have your number too, in case of like, an emergency or something.

Louis’ eyes widened in surprise and he took the note from Harry without really thinking about it. “Owh, yeah okay. Thanks.” He said smiling.

Ella tugged at his pants. “Dad? Food please?” Louis turned to her again, rolling his eyes. “Yeah, yeah, you’re starving, I get it.”

She smiled, crooked teeth visibly. “Oh yes! You have no idea. Can we get some chips please? Pretty, pretty please, daddy?” She had taken his hand and was already leading him out of the room.

Louis followed meekly, having just enough time to look over his shoulder and mouth a silent ‘thank you’ to Harry, who just smiled and winked at him in response.

They reached the car soon, as it hadn’t been parked far away because they were some of the only ones still there. Louis opened the door and stepped inside, making sure that Ella was climbing in on the other side.

They drove in silence for a while and just when Louis was about to ask about her dance class, Ella opened her mouth to speak.

“Harry is gay.”

Louis practically choked on air, sending him into a coughing fit. “How… How do you even know that?” He knew Ella always tried to discover people’s sexuality. Ever since Louis came out to her, she had been trying to find other guys who were gay.

Ella shrugged. “I asked him.”

For a moment, Louis just blankly stared at her, before sighing. “Ella, you can’t just ask people if they’re gay.”

She just rolled her eyes. “Oh, chill out. I didn’t just ask him. I do know how to be subtle.”

Louis was unimpressed. “Just how subtle were you?”

“Well, I made up a story that I kinda liked a boy in my school but that I didn’t know how to handle it and blah, blah, blah. Then he tried to give me some advice and I asked him if he had a girlfriend. He said no and then I asked if he maybe had a boyfriend.”

Louis frowned. “And?”

Ella smiled. “He didn’t immediately answer that, so I was like ’I would be totally okay with that, you know? ‘Cause my dad is gay, and he’s my favourite person in the world.’ ”

“You outed me to him? You can’t just do things like that, Ella!”

“Relax, would you? It was for better purposes.” She looked sternly at him and he shut up. “Anyway, he then smiled and said ‘No, I don’t have a boyfriend either. My last boyfriend broke up with me on the phone and I haven’t really dated anyone since then.’ So conclusion, he is gay. Or well, maybe bisexual, but the point is, he likes boys.”

Louis just shook his head, slightly smiling. “You are one mischievous little girl, El.” He started the car and started driving.

Ella smiled. “Learned from the best, didn’t I?”

“That you did, my dear. That you did.”

-

Ella was in the shower when Louis remembered the piece of paper Harry had given him earlier. He sat down on the sofa and pulled it out of his pocket. He held it between his fingers while he hesitantly bit his lips. Should he text him? Or was it still to soon?

Louis pinched himself. Don’t act stupid, Lou. It’s not like he wants to go on a date or something. It’s just for emergencies. It’s completely okay to text him already. He pulled his phone out and swiftly typed in the number.

**_To: Harry – 08:03 pm_ **  
_Hi Harry. It’s Louis, Ella’s father? So here’s my number. For emergencies, wasn’t it? Thanks again, for watching Ella._

He hesitated for a second before adding a smiley at the end. Much better.

It didn’t Harry long to answer.

**_Harry – 08:05 pm_ **  
_Hiiiii ☺ You can stop thanking me now, you know. It was a pleasure. Ella is very pleasant company and a really nice girl._

Louis smiled before immediately typing an answer.

**_To: Harry – 08:06 pm_ **  
_Must have gotten that from her father !!_

Just as Louis’ phone buzzed again, Ella shouted from the bathroom. “Dad?! Can you come and comb my hair? It’s really fuzzy because I washed it and I can’t get the knots out of it as good as you can!”

“Coming!” He shouted, and he stood up from where he was seated, taking one last look at his phone and reading the newest message.

**_Harry – 08:08 pm_ **  
_I don’t doubt that for a second .x_

 

Later that night, when Ella had already been asleep for approximately two hours, Louis was still texting back and forth with Harry. They had been talking via text messages non-stop that evening. It was not like Louis could help it really (at least that’s what he told himself), Harry was just a really nice person to talk too. Louis read the latest message he had gotten.

**_Harry – 10:45 pm_ **  
_You should come to a dance class! I bet you’d do great ☺ .x_

Louis huffed and smiled softly. Yeah, right. Him dancing?!

**_To: Harry – 10:46 pm_ **  
_Sorry to disappoint, love. But I can’t dance for shit. X_

Harry was the one that had started with putting x’s at the end of his messages. It was not like it meant something… It was not like they were flirting. (They definitely were thought.) Louis just thought it was nice and that he should use them too. He took a gulp of wine from his glass and almost choked on it when he read Harry’s answer.

**_Harry - 10:48 pm_ **  
_Shame. I’d have liked to see you shake that bum of yours! .x_

Okay, that was flirting. Louis flushed pink and bit his lip. He shook his head. He barely even knew this guy. How could he possibly be this infuriated with him already?

They ended up texting for about another hour, before Louis decided that he really needed to sleep.

(And if he wanked to the thought of green eyes and curly hair that night… Well, no one had to know.)

-

Louis was just coming out of a business meeting when his phone rang. He flushed bright red when Talk dirty to me started echoing through the hallways, making some of his colleagues raise their eyebrows at him.

Louis immediately recognized it as Harry’s personal ringtone (don’t blame him, it had been Niall’s idea and Louis was very, very horny when he’d installed it). He pulled out his phone, hastily pressed Accept and held it to his ear.

“Hello?” He said, walking to his office as soon as possible to avoid the wary glances of other people.

“Hi. Louis, uhm… It’s Harry?” Harry’s deep voice sounded through the speaker. He sounded a bit nervous for some reason.

“Hi!” Louis said, not really getting why Harry would call him. “Why are you calling? Aren’t you supposed to teach a dance class, right now?”  
Louis heard Harry scraping his throat. “Well, yeah, uhm.. That’s why I’m calling actually, uhm…”

Louis stopped in his track. Was there something wrong with Ella? “Spit it out, Harry.”

“Don’t freak out, please, but… Ella fell. She uhm… She hurt her wrist? I don’t– It doesn’t look very good. I think we have to go to the hospital.”

Louis, of course, did freak out. “What?! Stay there, Harry, I’m coming!” He heard Harry’s soft complains but tuned them out. “Look, I’ll be there in approximately ten minutes. Just… Take care of her until I’m there please?” His tone sounded pleading.

“Yeah, Lou, of course. Always. See you soon.”

Louis put down his phone and raced towards his car. He would have to explain himself to his boss later, no doubt, but Ella was more important right now. Ella was more important than anything.

-

Needless to say, Louis drove like crazy. In barely 9 minutes, he had reached to sports centre, something that normally took him about 15 minutes. He didn’t really care though, he was a very skilled driver and knew how not to have an accident. The only thing that mattered right now was his baby girl.

When he entered the sport centre and walked through to the dancing studios, he noticed that Harry wasn’t in the room where Ella’s classes were usually held. It was Ella’s group though, but it was Liam that stood in the front, not the usual curly haired boy. Louis groaned in frustration. Where were they? They wouldn’t have gone to the hospital without them, would they?

“Oh Louis, there you are!”

Louis turned around so fast that it nearly caused him a whiplash. Zayn was standing behind him and motioned to follow him. “Come on, she’s in my office. Harry’s with her.”

Louis sighed in relief, following Zayn towards his office. Entering, his eyes immediately searched for Ella, who was currently sitting on a bench next to Harry, leaning her head on his shoulders. Her red cheeks were streaked with tears, although she wasn’t crying anymore.

“Hi princess.” Louis said carefully. He crouched down in front of the bench and carefully wiped some tears away with his thumb. He shortly smiled up at Harry, silently thanking him for taking care of her. “How are you feeling, sweetheart? Does it hurt?”

Ella sniffled. “D-daddy,” she started, before silently beginning to sob again. “It rea-really hurts, daddy.” She silently whispered through her sobs.

“It okay, baby. We’ll go to the hospital, alright?” He stood up again.

Ella nodded. “But no needles, right? I’m not going if there are needles.”

Louis sighed. “I can’t promise you that, sweetie. But I’ll make sure that they won’t use needles if it’s not necessary.” He reached out to pick her up and Ella wrapped her legs around his waist, clutching her wrist with her other hand.

“Thank you for looking after her, Harry,” He said softly. “I know you probably should be teaching right now, so really, thanks.” He shot him a grateful look.

Louis heard Zayn chuckling behind him and turned around. “What’s funny?” Louis asked, rubbing his hand over Ella’s back to calm her down.

“Well, I basically couldn’t get Harry away from Ella. I tried to tell him that I would take care of Ella, so he could continue his lesson, but he wouldn’t hear of it. He even insisted on calling you himself.”

Louis looked at Harry in surprise, Harry’s cheeks had turned slightly red and he was biting his lip.

Ella moaned, pressing her face into Louis’ shoulder. “Daddy.” She said desperately.

Louis was shook awake by that. “Alright baby, we’re going.” He started walking towards the door.

“Wait daddy,” Ella soft voice sounded, “Can Harry come please? He makes me less scared.” Louis looked towards Harry to check if he was okay with it.

Harry immediately nodded and grabbed his jacket. “Yeah, sure, come on, let’s go.”

Harry ended up sitting in the backseat with Ella, murmuring things in her ear which Louis could only guess. Harry was good at this though; he was really good with kids. No wonder he had studied to be a kindergarten teacher.

Luckily, the drive towards the hospital was pretty short. He parked as close to the entrance as possible and walked towards it at a fast pace, Harry with Ella in his arms close behind him.

The people at administration worked fast. In no time, they were seated in the waiting room, where they had to wait ‘till an x-ray could be made. Ella had calmed down by now, thanks to Harry really, ‘cause Louis was one big bundle of nerves, worried about his precious little baby (who was not really that little anymore).

It pretty much turned out to be their lucky day. It wasn’t very busy at the hospital and within half an hour, it was Ella’s turn to get an x-ray taken. By then, she was slightly panicking again, but the nurse managed to calm her down fairly quick.

Louis and Harry were allowed to come into the room, but had to stay on the opposite side of where Ella had to take place. They couldn’t really hear what the nurse was saying to her, but Louis guessed she was explaining what was going to happen.

Louis still hadn’t completely calmed down. He was frowning and the worry was very clear in his eyes. Harry took his hand and looked him in the eye. “Hey, it’s gonna be alright. She’s a very strong girl, you know. She’ll be okay.”

Louis nodded, finding himself calmer in an instant, just by getting lost in Harry’s green eyes. God, he really wanted to kiss him right now, but that was like, totally inappropriate, especially now that his daughter was in distress.

The doctor’s conclusion was clear. Broken. Ella had managed to break her wrist. Louis sighed. Ella was going to go crazy if she had to wear a cast, but there was no other option though.

Obviously, Ella cried when they put a cast on her wrist. Not really because she was in pain, but mainly because she knew that she wouldn’t be able to dance for a while. The only thing that slightly consoled her was that it the cast only reached till just below her elbow and that she could chose the colour of it. (She chose for bright pink, but that wasn’t really a surprise.)

“Good choice!” Harry said smiling widely. “I would have chosen that too.”

Louis snorted, actually not doubting that at all. “You would, yeah.” He couldn’t really hide the fond tone in his voice, which made Harry smile even wider, dimples on full display.

Ella was quietly watching them with a considering look on her face, quickly turning into a smile.

And well, if Louis could see Harry smile at him like that more often, maybe it this day hadn’t been that bad after all.

-

The weeks passed slowly. Ella wearing a cast had been just as Louis expected. Unpleasant. She kept mourning about how she wanted to dance again and still went to every class, if only to watch.

Louis sighed and fumbled with his phone. One week to go till the cast would be removed. Ella was with her mum for the weekend and as always, it left an empty hole in Louis. Of course, sometimes he did like having a little break, but if he was honest, he just couldn’t miss his little girl.

**_To: Harry – 06:16 pm_ **  
_Save me please! I’m dying of boredom :(_

His phone immediately buzzed in his hand.

**_Harry – 06:18 pm_ **  
_Cook dinner for Ella or like, go to the park with her? x._

**_To Harry – 06:19 pm_ **  
_Ella’s at Hannah’s for the weekend :( It’s a lonely night full of fluffy socks and take-out for me!!_

**_Harry – 06:20 pm_ **  
_Not take out again, Louuu, think about your health! Get dressed, I’ll be there in 10 minutes. We’re going out!_

Louis froze and sat up straight. Harry was coming? Shit. He quickly looked at himself in the mirror next to the bookcase. Ew. His hair lay flat on his head, covered by an old beanie and he was only wearing a greasy old t-shirt and pants.

Time for a quick make-over.

Louis quickly put on his blue jeans and threw on his red shirt that was actually a bit too big on him, but showed of his collarbone tattoo wonderfully. He took off the beanie and quickly styled his hair, just as the doorbell rang. Perfect. Just in time.

Louis made his way to the door and pulled it open (and if he was a little enthusiastic and nervous, no one noticed).

“Harry.” He said, eyes widening as he took in the sight in front of him. Harry was wearing black jeans that looked as if they had been painted on and a tight grey sweater that made him look all cute and cuddly.

Harry wiggled his eyebrows. “Well hello Louis. You look nice!” Louis was about to reply, but Harry grabbed his arm and pulled Louis out of the door. “Come on, I’m getting you out of here.”

If someone had told Louis that this trip (Louis refused to call it a date) was completely unplanned, he would have never believed it. They made their way (in Harry’s car) towards a small restaurant and luck seemed to be on their side, as there was only one table left. The waitress clearly seemed to think that they were on a date, as she kept throwing glances at them and kept smiling. (Honestly, Louis was quite endeared but also a bit uncomfortable.)

Talking with Harry went as fluent as always and by the time their meals arrived, Louis had burst into laughter at least 5 times because of something Harry had said.

Eating was… Interesting, to say the least. Louis couldn’t stop looking at Harry while they were eating their pasta. He was completely fascinated by the way Harry put food into his mouth, to be honest. Harry always seemed to slightly stick out his tongue before placing his fork into his mouth and Louis couldn’t be more endeared.

The rest of the night went by at shutter speed, and Louis kinda wished it could last forever. By the time they left the restaurant, they had finished 1,5 bottle of wine and Louis stomach was filled with butterflies and lust. He had been staring at Harry all night, just like Harry had stared at him, and Louis honestly had never want to kiss anyone this badly before.

Before realising what he was doing, he had pressed Harry against the wall outside of restaurant building and he eagerly pressed their lips together.

A flush of relief flooded over him when Harry kissed him back just as eager and fitted their mouths together. There was no doubt, when Louis’ tongue entered the warmth of Harry’s mouth and there was no doubt, as they kept crashing against each other.

It was when Harry wrapped his legs around Louis’ waist that Louis realised that they probably shouldn’t be doing this in the middle of the street. With a lot of difficulty, he pulled away, and Harry kept tracing kisses from his cheekbones to his neck.

“Ha- Haz, we… We should- I need you, we… Is your place close?” Louis gasped.

Harry moaned. “I- Yeah, just- Get in the car. I need you. Needed you yesterday”

The short drive to Harry’s flat was pretty much hell. Harry was driving, so Louis just kept kissing his neck and sucked lovebites on his collarbones. At one point, he cupped Harry’s hard on through his trousers and Harry bucked up hard into his hand. “Lou- Lou stop, I- I need to drive.” Louis just hoped they’d be there soon.

-

When they reached the door of Harry’s small flat, it took Harry about 5 attempts to shove his key into the lock of the door. It maybe, possibly, had something to do with the fact that Louis was currently plastering himself against Harry’s entire backside, whispering to hurry the fuck up.

Harry hastily pushed the door open and Louis wasted no time with pushing Harry inside and pressing him against the wall again, kicking the door shut again with his foot. Harry felt intensively warm against him and his cheeks were flushed a bright shade of red. Louis was focusing more on his puffy lips, though. They looked chappy and dry, but he couldn’t help but long to feel them against his.

Louis pressed his groin against Harry’s and leaned in to whisper in his ear. “You have no fucking idea how good you look right now.” Harry shivered under his touch, but Louis just continued. “Looking all hot and bothered for me. Christ, you really don’t know what you do to me, do you?” He closed the gap between their lips and immediately slipped his tongue inside Harry’s mouth, causing their teeth to clash against each other.

Harry panted and eagerly kissed back. “Lou- please,” he begged.

“What do you want me to do, love? Tell me please?” He sighed between kisses while burying his hands in Harry’s hair.

“Want- want you to fuck me. Please, I need- need to feel you inside me. Now.”

And fuck, to hear Harry being so needy and willing could practically make Louis come on the spot. He gathered all of his willpower to pull away from Harry. “Yeah, let’s- let’s do that. I can do that. Bedroom?”

Harry closed his eyes for a second, calming his breath down. “Right- uh... This way,” he said while nodding and pulling Louis further into the flat, towards his bedroom.

If it had been possible, Louis would have liked to look around a bit, but as there was currently a very hot boy sucking a love bite on his neck while pushing him down on the bed, he left that for another time.

Harry gasped when Louis unzipped Harry’s trousers and pulled them down, only to widen his eyes in surprise when he noticed that Harry wasn’t wearing any pants. “Expecting to get lucky tonight, were you?” Louis said with a soft smile on his face, palming Harry in his hand, a movement that only made Harry squirm harder.

“Looked- looked better that way. Wanted to impress you,” Harry panted. “Lou, please, please, please. I need to feel you inside! L-lube and condoms are in- in the drawer of the nightstand.”

Louis pulled back to grab them and threw them next to Harry on the bed. He strangled Harry’s hips and started pulling his own shirt off, while Harry fumbled to unzip Louis’ jeans. “Off, off, off,” he mumbled, probably more to himself than to Louis. When Louis himself was undressed, he went on with removing Harry’s shirt and threw it off the bed.

He started lubricating his fingers and kissed Harry once again, before moving away so he had better access to Harry’s hole. He leaned down to press a kiss against one of Harry’s bum cheeks and carefully sucked a love bite in it, with the full intention of leaving a mark. When he was satisfied with the pink blooming on Harry’s bum, he slowly started pressing one finger in, looking at Harry’s face to make sure he was okay. “Good?” Louis asked.

Harry squirmed a bit, trying to get a better angle. “Y-yes, fine. More please.”

Louis took his time opening Harry up. He eased in one finger after another, constantly making Harry beg and gasp. By the time he had three fingers buried deep in Harry’s arse, Harry was a whimpering mess. He didn’t even manage to get out full sentences anymore, just kept pledging for more.

“Lou- please, I- I’m ready, I- More please, need your cock,” Harry’s voice wasn’t much more than a desperate whisper.

Louis just kissed him long and deep before pulling his fingers out, causing Harry to whine again and making him feel empty. Louis quickly opened the condom package lying beside them and rolled it over his length, generously coating it in lube.

And when he finally pushed in, very carefully, his eyes never left Harry’s.

-

The first thing Louis noticed when he woke up, was that it was way to bright in the room. He groaned and rolled over in the bed, pulling the cover over his head. He frowned for about a second, before realizing that it wasn’t his usual double bedcover that he was lying under. He opened his eyes and sat up straight, looking across the not-so-well-known-room.

It was very neat. Clothes were where they were supposed to be, in the closet, and he could actually see the floor, as it wasn’t scattered with socks, shoes and other random stuff like in Louis’ room. The walls were covered with pictures though, and Louis easily recognized Harry in them. Harry with children, Harry with Zayn and Liam, Harry with his family and, surprisingly, one of Harry and Ella. Louis’ gaze particularly lingered on the last one. He had never seen it before, but immediately knew when it was taken. It was a selfie that Harry had token with Ella in his lap, and Louis recognized it from the day he was late from work and Harry took care of Ella.

Louis softly smiled and threw the covers of him, climbing out of bed and standing on his feet. He yawned and blinked, his eyes not quite used yet to the light streaming through the window. Making his way to the kitchen, he recalled everything that had happened last night and not even the ache in his muscles could make it a bad memory, cause hell Harry sure knew how to move his body.

Reaching the small kitchen, he immediately noticed the bright yellow post-it note stuck to the fridge and pulled it off. His eyes had a hard time focusing on the words and he pressed them close for a second before sleepily opening them again.

Hiiii, sorry I didn’t wake you up but you looked so peaceful. I had to be at the dance studio at 8 am (though I doubt I’ll be able to dance properly because my ass is rather sore, but like, good sore). Breakfasts in the fridge! I’ll definitely call you later ;) x. Haz

Louis was shocked into live again and was suddenly much more awake then a few seconds before. Shit. He had had sex with his daughter’s dance teacher. He had fucked the dance teacher of his ten-year-old daughter. That was wrong. That was so, so wrong on so many levels.

It didn’t take him long to hastily put on his clothes again and to get out of the flat. He felt guilty for leaving the flat like this, for not even eating the breakfast Harry had made him, and for basically leaving Harry. But he couldn’t do this. He was going to lose his mind if he did this. This had been a mistake. A terribly, bittersweet, yet human mistake.

Louis harshly pulled the door closed behind him, before he could even start to think of changing his mind. You have a daughter to think of, Louis. He leaned back against the door for a moment, closing his eyes and sighing. It was for the best. He couldn’t let this get any further.

And after all, he just walked away.

-

**_Harry – 11:37 am_ **  
_You didn’t eat the breakfast I made you :( :( :(_

**_Harry – 11:54 am_ **  
_Can I see you toniiiiight? x._

**_Harry – 01:12 pm_ **  
_Louuuu? x._

**_Harry – 03:45 pm_ **  
_Why aren’t you answering my calls? Did something happen? x._

**_Harry – 03:47 pm_ **  
_Did I do something? Zayn said you did answer his texts :(_

**_Harry – 07:10 pm_ **  
_Oh. I see._

**_Harry – 07:12 pm_ **  
_Wait, seriously?! Wow. Thanks a lot._

**_Harry – 09:21 pm_ **  
_Just one question though; did it mean anything at all? Or was I just some kind of game to you?_

**_Harry – 09:22 pm_ **  
_Wait, don’t answer that. Stupid question. Of course, it didn’t mean anything to you, otherwise this wouldn’t be happening._

**_Harry – 09:23 pm_ **  
_Don’t bother calling me._

-

It had been 2 weeks since Louis had walked out of Harry’s flat. It had been 2 weeks since Louis had last heard from Harry. It had been 2 weeks since Louis had seen Harry, and he was going crazy.

Louis had avoided Harry at all costs. Not responding to his calls, not replying to his texts… He even went as far as picking Ella up outside of the sports centre, not wanting to face the dimpled boy. Ella had frowned deeply, when Louis told her he would pick her up on the parking lot from now on, but she was smart enough to not ask questions.

Truth was, Louis missed Harry. In the rather short span of time that they had gotten to know each other, mainly via text messages, Harry had managed to find his way towards Louis’ heart and to capture a piece of it. Louis just hadn’t figured out yet how big exactly that part was.

-

Louis cracked after 3 weeks.

“Daddy?” Ella asks quietly. She was lying on her back in her bed and Louis had quickly come in to give her a good night kiss. He frowned at her tone, which was much more serious then he was used to.

He sat down beside her and started combing through her hair with his fingers. “Yes darling?”

Ella pushed herself up on her elbows and frowned. “It’s just… I was just wondering if like, maybe, you could talk to Harry?” She bit her lip and carefully looked at him, worry clear in her eyes.

That startled Louis and his fingers stilled, still tangled in Ella’s hair. “What do you mean, El? Why- why should I talk to him?” He tried to keep his voice under control.

Ella looked down for a moment before connecting her eyes with Louis’ again. “It’s- He just looks so sad, dad. And I tried to talk to him, but he keeps assuring me he’s fine. I know he’s not though, and then I thought that maybe he needs to talk to a grown-up, so could you please talk to him?”

Louis took a deep breath, not really expecting this. “I- uhm…” For once, he really didn’t know what to say.

Ella kept looking at him with pleading eyes. “Please, dad? I really think it would help him,” she seemed to hesitate for a second before continuing, “Also, I- it’s just, you have also been looking quite sad for a while and- I don’t know. Maybe you could just try to cheer each other up?”

Louis slowly blinked. It was true that he had been thinking a lot about Harry and Louis leaving him, but he had no idea it was so obvious that even Ella noticed. His heart clenched at the thought of Harry being sad, and that was the main moment he realised that he might have fallen harder for the curly-haired boy then he had initially planned on. That was when he knew that he was utterly in love with his daughter’s dance-teacher, and that was when he knew that he had really screwed up.

He swallowed. “I’ll see what I can do, dear.”

-

Once in the living room again, he started pacing back and forth. In an impulsive moment, he grabbed his cellphone from the table, hovering his finger about Harry’s name.

Louis shook his head. There was no way Harry would even reply. And also, Harry deserved much more than a stupid apology via text. Louis closed his eyes and quickly made his decision, before he’d chicken out.

**_To: Zayn – 09:13 pm_ **  
_Hi mate… I have a favour to ask you._

-

Louis held the phone close to his hear, letting the dial tone filling his ear. He sighed in relief when they picked up the phone.

“Niall!” Louis exclaimed, sounding slightly panicked.

“Lou? What is it, mate? Did something happen?” Niall’s worried voice sounded through the speaker.

Louis closed his eyes. “No, uhm… Nothing happened, I just- I need you to come and watch Elle for a moment. Please? She’s already asleep, but there’s somewhere I have to be.”

Niall’s voice didn’t contain the slightest bit of hesitation when he answered. “Okay. I’ll be there in 5 minutes.”

True to his words, Niall arrived 5 minutes later. When Louis opened the door, Niall just stared at him for a few seconds.

“You going to fix it, then?” Niall walked past Louis and walked towards the kitchen. (Where else, really?)

Louis bit his lip and nodded nervously. “About time, no?”

Niall smiled. “Always knew you’d get your head outta your ass.” He nodded towards the door. “Come on, go get your man.”

Louis was out the door in seconds.

-

Louis stood in front of the sports centre with his phone clutched in his hands. He read the message on the screen one last time.

**_Zayn – 09:58 pm_ **  
_He’s at the dance studio. Barely even left the place in the last weeks. Don’t mess this up._

Louis took a deep breath before walking inside. It was quite dark in the building. The lessons had ended hours ago, and the only light came from one of the dance studios in the back.

Time seemed to go by slowly but way too fast as Louis made his way towards it. His heart seemed to be beating at an unreasonable speed and Louis felt as if he had to drag his feet forwards. He reached the door all too soon.

The door was ajar and Louis softly pushed it open further, only to freeze in the doorway.

Harry hadn’t seen him yet. He was dancing. It all took Louis by surprise; the soft and slow music, Harry’s fluent moves… The thing was; Louis had seen Harry dance before, more than once, but never like this. Never this vulnerable. The other times that Louis had seen Harry dance, it had been to upbeat music and it had been fast. It had been hip-hop.

You couldn’t call this hip-hop in the slightest. This was contemporary. This was slow, this was soft, this was beautiful. Don’t get Louis wrong; he did think hip-hop was beautiful too, and that it was impressive, but this was just something completely else.

The way Harry moved across the room made Louis’ heart soar and made his chest hurt because there was so much pain visible in his dancing.

Harry ended his routine by some sort of falling on his back, a move that he had probably done a hundred times before, but it still made Louis gasp loudly. Loud enough to make Harry aware of Louis’ presence. He immediately sat up straight and just stared at him, seemingly in shock.

Louis looked down and bit his lip. He closed the door behind him and stepped forward, finally looking up at Harry again.

Louis hadn’t prepared himself for this. In no way, he could’ve prepared himself to see Harry like this. He seemed sad, although that probably wasn’t the right word. He looked broken.

“Hi…” Louis said softly, if only to break the deafening silence that lingered in the room.

Harry seemed to come to senses again and took a sharp breath. He closed his eyes, only to open them again after a few seconds. “Louis.” His voice sounded rough and was barely louder then a whisper. It was enough to make Louis crack.

Louis fell down on his knees in front of Harry and tried to look him in the eyes. “Harry, I-“ He wasn’t able to complete his sentence as Harry immediately interrupted him.

“No. Don’t Louis. Please, I-“ He seemed to hesitate for a bit and took another deep breath. “If you’re here to say you’re sorry, just leave. I don’t need your apology.”

Louis gasped and tried to say something, but Harry halted him again. “Or if you’re here just to have another go, to have another one-night stand, you can leave right this second and make sure that you never show yourself again.”

Louis had really messed it up. He knew he had. “I- Harry…” His voice sounded pleading and he tried to reach out to Harry, but Harry flinched away. Louis inhaled deeply and tried not to let the hurt show on his face.

“I- I didn’t came here for sex, Harry..” He closed his eyes, trying to calm his breathing down. “I’d never. I- I also didn’t came to say sorry. I-“ He paused, opening his eyes again. Harry’s gaze was directed towards the floor and his hands were softly trembling.

Louis continued. “Well, I kinda did, but like… Not only to say sorry. I- I know sorry really doesn’t make up for what I did, but… I think- I’d like to explain if you’d let me?”

Harry’s eyes shifted towards Louis’ face, only to look towards the floor again a second later.

Louis was loosing courage, and didn’t expect Harry to answer, but then Harry quickly nodded.

Louis sat up a bit straighter, partly because he was surprised, and partly because of what he was about to say. He nodded as if to encourage himself.

“The weeks that I got to know you, were probably the best weeks of my life. I- The first time I saw you, I was overwhelmed. I remember thinking ‘who is this person?’ and the only thing that came to my mind was ‘I want to know everything about him and I want him to know everything about me’. It scared me. Quite a lot to be honest. And then the first time we talked, I could barely get out the words. I honestly felt like a 12-year old talking to her crush for the first time.”

Louis sniggered softly at the memory. “The second I got to know you, I realised how a good person you were, and the more I knew about you, the more I wanted to tell you everything about myself. It was weird, honestly. I’ve always had a hard time opening up to people, but with you… It was natural.”

Harry looked up. Tears were clear in his eyes. “Then why did you leave?” His voice was quiet and reflected hurt. “Why did you stop talking to me? I- You could have just told me that you weren’t interested and-“ He didn’t continue.

Louis softly grabbed Harry’s hand, holding it between his own. “I cannot tell you how sorry I am, and I’m not gonna try because you deserve so much better but- I was never not interested in you Harry. I-“ He paused.

“When I woke up that morning, you weren’t there and… And then I read your note and just… You’re my daughter’s dance teacher, for crying out loud. And it should be so, so wrong, but for some reason it isn’t. Not with us. Never with us. Everyday I talked to you, I felt myself falling more and more and I was so, so scared, but… I’m not anymore. I’m not scared now and I now know that I am utterly, completely, madly in love with you.”

Louis heard Harry gasp, but he didn’t falter.

“And I thought that maybe if I ignored everything to do with you, I could just make myself forget about my feelings for you. But it didn’t work. Of course it didn’t, because I fucking love you. And I know I was a dick, and I know that I fucked up, but if you could find it in you to forgive me… Would you please, please do me the honour of going on a date with me, Harry Styles?”

Louis felt Harry’s hand trembling between his own. “You-“ Harry’s voice sounded thick of tears. “You really, really hurt me, Lou. You just- We talked everyday. You were also one of my best friends and it hurt so fucking bad when suddenly you just stopped talking to me. And-“

Louis looked down and tightened his grip on Harry’s hand, scared of what he was going to say.

“And I was so mad at myself- because no matter how hard I tried, I couldn’t hate you. I- Of course I forgive you, how could I not? And I- I really fucking love you too.”

Louis looked up, eyes wide open. Harry smiled softly, cheeks still wet. “Of course I do, you dick. I spent the past months falling deeper and deeper in love with you. Of course I’ll go on a date with you.”

Louis wasn’t sure who moved first, but before he even realised, their lips were pressed against each other. And yes, Louis missed this. Missed Harry. Their lips fitted perfectly together, as puzzle pieces, as ying and yang, as all the clichés in the world.

But maybe, Louis thought, maybe being a cliché isn’t so bad sometimes.

-

“Shhht, quiet! You’ll wake Ella up.” Louis giggled as he pressed his hand against Harry’s mouth. Harry just giggled along. Louis shook his head. “Come on, let’s just get you out of here.”

He dragged Harry towards the door and pressed their lips together. “I’ll see tomorrow, okay?” Harry nodded and opened the door. He pressed one last kiss to Louis’ cheek and stepped outside closing the door behind him.

Louis stood with his back against the door and sighed happily, wondering when this had become his life.

It had been two weeks since the night at the dance studio. Two weeks of blissful happiness, two weeks of sneaking around, two weeks of getting to know each other all over again. Also, one night of screaming and crying and fighting, and three nights of secret sleepovers.

The one fight they had had was inevitable, the wounds of the events before still fresh and open, but they had managed to get passed it pretty quickly.

Two nights ago, Louis had officially asked Harry to be his boyfriend. Ella had been at her mum’s and Louis had cooked Harry a meal. (Chicken wrapped in parma ham with mozzarella and a side of homemade mash)

Of course, Ella didn’t know about them yet. Louis had just told her that he’d talked with Harry and she’d been incredibly pleased with that. The next time she had a dancing class, she came out with a bright smile claiming that Harry had been glowing of happiness. (Louis was not so secretly very proud of that.)

They wanted to wait a while before telling Ella. It probably wouldn’t be easy for her, her dad and her dance teacher being together, so they wanted to wait, seeing how things would turn out between the two of them.

In the last 2 weeks, Harry had slept over 3 times.

“Lou, seriously? You have a Disney-princesses bedcover?” Harry had exclaimed the first time upon entering Louis’ room. Louis had blushed and rolled his eyes. “It was a present from my mum for Ella, but apparently she’s over her Disney-period and like.. Someone had to use it right?”

Two of the three times, Ella had been at home, but Harry came in late enough and left early enough to leave her blissfully unaware.

-

After 3 weeks of secretly dating, Ella started to suspect something was up.

“Dad?” She asked one night. Louis had come home late and she was already in bed by the time he arrived. “Why is Niall coming to baby-sit so often lately? How come you suddenly have to work so much?”

Louis coughed. Truth was, he hadn’t been working. He had finished work at 6 o’clock and then went on a date with Harry. “Just busy, sweetheart, you know, time of the year and all.”

-

It happened again a week later.

“Dad? Why is Harry here so often?” Ella asked curiously.

Louis fumbled with the hem of his shirt before answering. “We’re friends, Ella. Niall is here often too.”

“Yeah, but you don’t blush nearly as much when Niall’s here.”

(That had sent Louis in a coughing fit and he excused himself as he went to get water in the kitchen.)

-

Three days later, when Louis was at Harry’s and Niall was baby-sitting Ella yet again, he got a text from Niall.

Niall – 07:16 pm  
Your daughter is a genius Louis, haha! Cracks me up every time! She just told me she wants to play match-maker with you and Harry hah!!!

-

Another day later, Ella told Louis that she liked having Harry there, because according to her, Louis never seemed happier then when Harry and Ella were with him.

Louis might have wanted to punch himself. He was totally gone for Harry, and even his 10-year old daughter could see it.

-

Harry and Louis both knew that it wouldn’t take long anymore before their ‘secret’ would be exposed. Only, it happened a tiny bit earlier and more inconvenient than expected.

“Lou, I really think I should go. Ella will be up any minute now.” Harry weakly said.

Louis wasn’t having any of it, as he just shushed him and pressed him against the kitchen counter.

He pressed their lips hard against each other and tangled his tongue with Harry’s.

They were jolted apart by a high-pitched scream coming from the doorway. Louis cursed and immediately turned around towards the door.

Ella had already disappeared out of the doorway though, and had run towards the living room.

Louis cursed once again and quickly followed her after throwing a quick look at Harry. Harry nodded, immediately understanding what Louis meant with that look and stayed in the kitchen.

“Ella?” Louis asked softly, watching her on the sofa with a wary look on his face. This was bad. This was really, really bad.

Or was it?

“Ella?” Louis asked again. Ella jumped up and ran towards Louis, wrapping her legs and arms around him, laughing.

Louis was confused.

Ella put her feet on the ground again and started talking rapidly. "So does this mean you two are dating? You are, right?”

Louis carefully nodded, not sure what to make of this reaction.

Ella let at a high-pitched shriek again. “FINALLY! I’ve been waiting for this ever since the hospital date!”

Louis’ eyes widened and he frowned. “Hospital date?”

Ella continued rambling. “Yeah, you know when I broke my wrist and you guys were all sweet and Harry was holding your hand, that was totally a date! How long has this been going on?”

Harry had also entered the living room, making Ella glow even more.

Louis bit his lip and shoot Harry a quick look before turning to Ella again. “About 5 weeks?”

Ella’s mouth fell open. “Five WEEKS?! And you didn’t think to tell me!” Ella exclaimed.

“Well, we weren’t sure what your reaction would be… But- You’re okay with it right?” Harry said smiling; he went to stand beside Louis and wrapped his arms around his waist.

Ella quickly nodded towards the both of them. “Of course, I am. How could you think I wouldn’t be? You are a perfect match! Ooowh, I love you both.” She jumped towards  them and enclosed them in a hug.

Louis was beyond relieved, and right now, as he was hugging his favorite people on earth, he couldn't be happier.

-

It was still early when Louis woke up. Instinctually, he reached out to his second half to curl around him again, but his hands only met blanket. Louis sleepily opened his eyes. Harry wasn’t beside him.

Louis frowned and buried himself into the pillows again. It didn’t last long before he heard the first signs of living in the flat. Well, the first for Louis at least, Louis suspected that Harry and Ella had been up for quite a while already. When he listened better, he heard the distinctive sound of music and his presumption was confirmed.

Unlike Louis, Ella and Harry were very much morning people and, as Louis knew, they liked practicing their dance moves in the morning. Louis smiled and slowly rolled out of bed. He quickly pulled on Harry’s sweater (because he liked how it reached till just below his butt) and made his way towards the living room.

As suspected, they were dancing. Or well, dancing… Ella was dancing while Harry was jumping around her and trying to distract her, pulling funny faces and just being completely himself.

And honestly, Louis just thought he’d won at life because either he woke up wrapped in one certain Harry Styles’ arms, or either he woke up to the sort thump of the music, knowing that his two favourite people in the world were practising their best dance moves in the living room and every day Louis wondered how he ever got this lucky.

Louis laughed at Harry’s goofiness and Ella and Harry both looked up at him. Ella just smiled and did a small little wave before getting back to dancing, while Harry bowed and slowly made his way towards Louis.

“Good morning, my dearest.” Harry said, trying to keep his voice as solemn as possible. Louis just burst into laughter again, which made Harry press their lips together.

And as he sighed against his lips, he felt love in every fibre of his being.

**Author's Note:**

> (I was really scared to post this so I just really, really hope you liked it!)
> 
>  **tumblr:** [brightbluelou](http://brightbluelou.tumblr.com)  
>  **twitter:** [brightbluelou_](http://twitter.com/brightbluelou_)
> 
> Please tell me what you think in the comments and feel free to leave kudo's! :)


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